Freedom behind bars in the Philippines

October 03, 2012

OM Ships International’s vessel Logos Hope continues to undergo maintenance work to ensure safe and reliable future operation in her unique mission to bring knowledge, help and hope. At the same time, lives are being transformed around the Philippines as teams from the ship serve local communities on shore.

“Once my eyes were closed, but now I can see!” exclaimed one of the 46 inmates at Olongapo District Jail who found freedom in Jesus Christ through visits by Logos Hope teams.

As the “book ship” remains in Subic Bay for vessel upgrades, local pastor Tony Paras invited crewmembers to visit women in Olongapo District Jail to help lead Sunday Bible studies. Through these weekly events, the ship’s crewmembers built friendships with inmates, who openly shared their struggles with them. Many inmates accepted God’s unconditional love and committed their lives to follow Jesus.

Warden Emily Bueno stated, “These meetings have quickly become the most well-attended meetings in this prison. We are so blessed to have the local pastor and crewmembers coming here to share about God’s love.”

Two months of discipleship resulted in a baptism service where 46 inmates were baptized by Pastor Tony Paras. “The fruit of the discipleship was evident, for which we all give thanks to God,” he said.

During that time crewmembers distributed Bibles in English and Tagalog, the national language, as well as Gospels of John. Seeing that some inmates suffer from poor eyesight, crewmembers also performed eye exams, testing all 88 inmates and several guards and giving out 63 pairs of glasses.

In addition to prison ministry, Logos Hope teams led week-long Bible schools in tribal groups, installed water purifiers, set up community libraries and rebuilt houses destroyed in the recent earthquake, restoring hope to local communities.

In all, over 70 teams went out in six phases to live among locals for three-weeks. While most outreach was planned in advance, crewmembers also responded to the immediate needs of people, including restoring neighborhoods devastated by flooding caused by heavy rains.

“Logos Hope was one of the first organizations to respond to our distress and call for help,” said Rolando Domingo, who facilitated donations from crewmembers for Philippine flood victims. Thirteen large bags of clothes, water purifiers, food and blankets were financed through gifts from the UK and Germany and given to 200 needy families in Lower Kalaklan, Olongapo and 400 members of the Aeta indigenous people group also living in the area.

Honourable Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr., of the Presidential Communications Operations Office of the Philippines, expressed appreciation for Logos Hope’s humanitarian efforts on behalf of the government. “I wish to commend the volunteer crewmembers of MV Logos Hope. Indeed, you are messengers of God’s Word and carriers of Hope.”

While the past six months of vessel upgrades have been a marathon for those on board, God’s faithfulness and provision has been clearly evident...On board Logos Hope the crew and staff of 400, including professional seafarers, are all non-salaried volunteers. With over 45 different nationalities represented, the onboard community is a fascinating expression of cross-cultural living and understanding that reflect the church around the world. Crewmembers are unified by their faith and goal to share God’s love as they serve in port communities. The ship remains in port for several weeks and opens to thousands of visitors every day.

Over one million visitors come on board each year to browse the hallmark of the Ship Ministry—a large floating book fair with over 5,000 titles in stock, including books for university studies, professional and career interests, history, science, economics, language learning, hobbies, novels, children's stories, biographies, dictionaries, atlases and a wide variety of Christian resources, including Bibles, study materials and books on Christian living.

The ships also bring aid and relief to needy people and places around the world. Crewmembers go ashore to provide medical aid, help construct schools, orphanages and homes, and give gifts of food, clothing and books. Teams also visit hospitals, orphanages and prisons to share God’s compassion and love.

Since 1970, over 42 million people have visited the ships during more than 1,400 port visits in 151 nations. GBA Ships e.V. (formerly Good Books for All), a private, non-profit, entity registered in Germany.

For latest news, further information, port schedules and opportunities to participate visit http://www.omships.org

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2012/10/prweb9965460.htm